Violence claims 67 lives, injures 250 across Iraq

August 18, 2012

3 1 minute read

At least 67 people have been killed and more than 250 others wounded in a series of bombings and other terrorist attacks across Iraq, where people prepare to celebrate the end of a fasting month. Fifteen explosions and several incidents of terrorism hit 10 cities and towns across the country on Thursday, AFP reported. In the capital, Baghdad, six people were killed and 26 wounded when a car bomb detonated in the northern neighborhood of Husseiniyah. In al-Garma, near the central city of Fallujah, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint, killing four officers killed and three others wounded. Three others were also wounded when a roadside bomb struck emergency responders and civilians who rushed to the shooting scene. In the northern town of Daquq, Kirkuk province, a bomber killed six policemen and wounded 25 people after he blew himself up at an anti-terrorism department’s compound. In the northern city of Kirkuk, four car bombs exploded within 45 minutes, which left two people dead and injured more than 30 others — among them a number of security forces. Further south, three roadside bombs rocked the town of Tuz Khurmatu near the home of a district chief, killing his wife and leaving him and his three sons wounded. In Kirkukâ€™s town of Dibis, two roadside bombs near the home of a police captain killed his brother and wounded four others, including the captain himself. Eighteen people were also wounded in explosions that took place in the northern city of Mosul and central city of Taji as well as al-Khalis and Baqouba in the eastern province of Diyala. On Wednesday, 13 people were killed in attacks north of Baghdad. The hike in violence in Iraq comes ahead of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and is viewed as one of the major Muslim festivities.